Mid-Con Basketball Recruits

[ORUTerry]

Here is what information I have accumulated from various sources including Rivals.com. It does not include any transfers or red-shirt players such as Adam Liberty, Daren Jordan or Sylvester Spicer at ORU. Please feel free to edit, add or comment on the information I have listed...

Obviously, if I have something listed incorrectly please feel free to let us know.

Chicago State:

TJ Jones, 6'7" power forward from Marion, IN

Carl Ross, 6'8" power forward from Chicago, IL

IUPUI

Billy Pettiford, 6'8" power forward from Marion, IN

Centenary

Chase Adams, 5'10" point guard from Baltimore, MD

Milutin Marjanovic, 6'10" center from Begrade, Serbia

Nicholas Stallings, 6'2'" shooting guard from New Orleans, LA

Lance Hill, 6'7" forward from Jacksonville College (& Houston, TX)

Oakland

Keith Benson, 6'10" center from Farmington Hills, MI

Jonathan Jones, 6'0" point guard from Okemos, MI

Western Illinois

Mo Smith, 6'4" shooting guard from Florissant, MO

Patrick Stoudamire, 5'10" point guard from Gresham, OR

James Washington, 5'11" point guard from St. Louis, MO

Southern Utah

Clarence Juillet, 6'6" power forward from Pontault-Combault, France

Oral Roberts

Kelvin Sango, 6'4" wing/guard from NE Junior College

Jeremy Hazell, 6'4" wing/guard from Patterson Prep (& Bronx)

Sean King, 6'10" center from Carl Albert JUCO (& Barbados)

Justin Robinson, 6'3" guard from Edmond Memorial (OKC)

Marquis Gaines, 6'2" guard from Muskogee, OK

Valparaiso

Paul Guede, 6'5" wing/guard from Grace Christian HS, NC

Keaton Frye, 6'4" wing/guard from Eldridge, IA

Callum MacLeod, 7'1" center from NE JUCO, CO (& NZ)

[ORUTerry]

This is a comment form the Valpo message board concerning the Centenary recruits; it was posted by captmidcon:

http://valpofans.proboards28.com/index.cgi?board=valposports&action=display&thread=1145382656

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Centenary's signed a pair of players . . . which is interesting because they only graduated one and lost two scholarships due to a low APR. Someone's going home.

(from centenary website)

SHREVEPORT?Centenary men?s basketball coach Rob Flaska has announced the signing of Lance Hill and Nicholas Stallings to National Letters of Intent. The two new Gents join Chase Adams and Milutin Marjanovic, who signed in the early period, to comprise the second recruiting class for Flaska since taking the reigns of the Centenary program before last season.

Hill (Houston, Texas), a 6?7?, 225-pound forward out of Jacksonville College, averaged 10.4 ppg and 5.6 rpg in conference play as a freshman. He will have three years of eligibility at Centenary upon arrival. While playing for Klein Forest High School in Houston, Hill was a first team All-District selection and was named to the Texas Top 100.

?Lance brings great versatility to our team,? said Flaska. ?He can post up to score or stop outside and shoot the three. He brings needed scoring and rebounding ability to our roster.?

Stallings (New Orleans, La.) is a 6?2?, 200-pound guard from Southwest Mississippi JC. He put up 10 ppg, 3.0 apg, and 4.0 rpg in junior college after averaging 23.4 ppg and six assists per contest at Chapel Hill High in Atlanta, Ga. He was part of the 2002 AAU National Championship team, was the All-Star game MVP, and was named first team All-District in addition to District Player of the Year.

?Nick is a big time athlete that adds toughness and maturity to our squad,? added Flaska. ?Nick has great ability to get to the basket and finish, while still being a strong defender on defense.?

The early Centenary signees of Adams and Marjanovic provide both speed and size. Adams (Baltimore, Md.) is a 5?10? point guard from Mt. St. Joseph High School. Marjanovic is 6?10? and 260 pounds from Belgrade, Serbia.

Centenary College is a Division I member of the Mid-Continent Conference. Centenary is located in Shreveport, La., and having been founded in 1825, it is the oldest college west of the Mississippi River.

[ORUTerry]

I saw this posted on the Valpo message board; hat tip to Rick.

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T-Birds sign 7-foot-2 center

By RICH JOHNSON

rjohnson@thespectrum.com

CEDAR CITY - The Southern Utah men's basketball coaching staff is doing what it can to fortify its front line.

Having already lured power forward Clarence Juillet during the early signing period, the Thunderbirds picked up a center on Tuesday in 7-foot-2, 245-pound Brad Kanis, a transfer from Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore.

"He brings a big presence," SUU assistant coach Ken Carillo said. "He's skilled offensively. Right now, he's not as strong as he'll be."

Kanis missed most of last season after undergoing finger surgery but averaged 16.5 points and 11 rebounds in the two games before his injury.

The T-Birds hope Kanis and Juillet will help offset the loss of three of their top frontcourt players from a year ago - Nate Janes, Lubor Olsovsky and Esteban Bonzano - and provide tougher opposition for the Mid-Continent Conference's best inside players.

Oral Roberts' Caleb Green, the Mid-Con player of the year, averaged 25.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in two games against the T-Birds. Also, Dan Oppland and Mohammed Kone played a big part in bouncing SUU from the first round of the Mid-Con Tournament.

Kanis hopes he can help change that.

"I think for a guy my size, I'm pretty quick and agile," he said. "I'm a lighter-weight post player and can catch the ball pretty well. I work a lot on my post moves, and I think being my size and being able to move, I'll be able to help down low."

While he is skilled offensively, Kanis said he prides himself on his defense. The T-Birds hope that he can use his height and long arms to change shots.

Juillet should help, too. He averaged 16.8 points and 8.5 rebounds during his freshman season at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif.

Carillo believes Juillet, a 6-6, 245-pound power forward, will match up well with ORU's Green.

"(Green) is a hard guard for any team in our league because he's a very good player," Carillo said. "Hopefully with (Juillet's) size, maybe he can push Caleb out away from the basket a little bit."

Although Kanis' recent history with injuries raises red flags, Carillo said SUU was willing to take what he called a calculated risk.

"The finger's going to heal," Carillo said. "There's a concern on our part how durable or steady he's going to be. But at the same time, had he played these last two years and produced the way he was producing, I don't think we would have had a chance to get him."

Kanis said he is anxious to play because he's missed nearly four years because of redshirts and injuries.

"I know this team and what they have right now," he said. "I think we have more than a shot to get to the NCAA Tournament."

The T-Birds, who led the nation by making 42.9 percent of their shots from 3-point range last season, don't have many concerns on the perimeter. All-Mid-Con selections Steve Barnes and Henry Uhegwu will return next season, along with slashing guard Justin Allen, who figures to crack the starting lineup.Top reserve guards Eli Davis and David Marek will also be back.

The T-Birds still have two roster spots to fill.

[ORUTerry]

Uhegwu, Bonfim leave SUU hoops team

By RICH JOHNSON

rjohnson@thespectrum.com

CEDAR CITY - After losing three starters to graduation, the Southern Utah men's basketball team has found out it is also losing its leading scorer.

Shooting guard Henry Uhegwu told The Spectrum and Daily News on Friday that he would not be returning for his senior season because he was academically ineligible. SUU head coach Bill Evans confirmed on Wednesday that Uhegwu would not be back next season.

"We're certainly going to miss Henry," Evans said. "Certainly we're going to miss his production on the floor as much as his competitive spirit."

Uhegwu, a second-team All Mid-Continent Conference selection who averaged 16.8 points in conference games, was known for his ability to get to the basket and his skill as an outside shooter. A transfer from Dixie State College, Uhegwu was a big part of a team that made 43 percent of its shots from 3-point range, tops in NCAA Division I-A.

The Thunderbirds will also miss the excitement Uhegwu brought to the floor. His passion for the game was infectious.

"He's a good young man," Evans said. "I'm going to miss him ... The exuberance he had, he was fun to coach and fun to be around."

On Friday, Uhegwu said he is hoping to play professionally in Europe.

Losing Uhegwu also stings because he is the fourth starter the T-Birds have lost from a team known for its unselfishness and chemistry.

Justin Allen is likely to slide into the starting lineup, meaning three starters will likely be newcomers to the program. The only returning starter will be point guard Steve Barnes, a former Canyon View High star.

"I think we lost some important guys that were good T-Birds and good loyal, hard-working guys," Evans said. "They played the game for the right reasons. Certainly we're going to miss those guys."

As far as Uhegwu's production is concerned, Evans is hoping Allen, redshirt Marcus Carson and Barnes - an honorable mention Mid-Con choice - will help pick up the slack. The additions of 6-foot-6 forward Clarence Juillet and 7-2 center Brad Kanis should also help.

"There's going to be more expected out of everybody," Evans said. "But being a Division I player, there's things that are expected anyway."

Backup center Fernando Bonfim will also not return for his senior season. He was not invited back by the coaching staff.

"It was a decision I thought I had to make, and so I made it," Evans said.

The 7-foot, 275-pound Bonfim came to the T-Birds after a solid junior college career at Western Nebraska, but proved to be a disappointment. In 18.2 minutes per game, Bonfim averaged five points and 2.4 rebounds.

Originally published May 18, 2006

[tmh8286]

This conference seems to be heading from bad to worse . . .

[Bogus Smith]

This was an interesting recruit for OU. This is the same school that Jeremy Hazell played on last season. It sounds like he has had difficulty qualifying and has not been recruited heavily because of his academics. It will be interesting to see how he turns out for the Sooners.

Sooners get commitment from prep guard

By Staff Reports

5/21/2006

NORMAN -- Looking to patch up its 2006-07 recruiting class in the wake of three defections, Oklahoma got a much-needed verbal commitment from prep school guard Bobby Maze on Friday, according to OUInsider.com.

Maze, who chose the Sooners over Wake Forest, averaged 19 points and eight assists at North Carolina's Patterson School last year while playing alongside OU signee Tony Crocker. It was Crocker who turned Sooner coach Jeff Capel onto Maze after Scottie Reynolds, Damion James and Jeremy Mayfield were released from the letters of intent they signed with OU last November.

It stands that Maze will replace Reynolds, assuming he is able to raise his ACT score and qualify academically.

Maze, a 6-2, 180-pounder who can play either point or shooting guard, is rated the No. 135 prep player nationally by Rivals.com, and the No. 28 prep school player by Hoop Scoop. He has spent the last two years at prep schools -- first at Lutheran Christian Academy in Philadelphia, then at Patterson -- after averaging 20 points a game for Suitland High School in Forestville, Md.